STEADY STREAM
A late night Amber Alert has been cancelled, the young girl has been found and an arrest has been made.
t’s the third Thursday of news in the New Year, with a VP visit and a challenge to make sense out of the narrative and the pictures. They don’t match.
The flow of news 22 days into 2026 is a bit overwhelming this morning. Recalling the premise of morning take, “to make you smarter before breakfast”, I know that the breakfast conversations might be today.
Did you hear….and then a laundry list of possibilities. Tomorrow there’s a shutdown day, the large businesses aren’t going to close. There are hints that different pathways are being forged to find a way forward, but patience is in short supply.
So, it seems are logic, and humanity.
Brian Flores will stay with the Vikings unless he gets a head coaching job.
TwinsFest starts tomorrow.
Sports Take comes out later today with a fan’s guide to following sports in a struggling Minnesota media market. (Hint: Quit whining about the “print edition.”) Also, the chilling tale of former Minnesota United coach Adrian Heath’s kidnapping in Morocco in 2024, a story he kept under wraps until now.
Friday morning will see the coldest air in seven years across most of Minnesota. TEMPS: https://fluence-media.co/4r9Pl5W
Who says we’ve seen it all? …Minnesota is under an “exploding tree risk” due to extreme temperatures. BMTN: https://fluence-media.co/4pRwBXJ
State law enforcement made over 2,100 DWI arrests between Thanksgiving and New Year’s Eve. WCCO: https://fluence-media.co/4r0VVvh
St. Paul native Tommy Brennan’s “SNL” monologue about Minnesota and ICE was cut for broadcast, but it’s now available online. WATCH: https://fluence-media.co/4pVkNns
Another federal operation targeting Somali immigrants has begun, this time in Maine. NYT: https://fluence-media.co/4pTbHYj
The president announced he is backing down from his threats over Greenland. AP: https://fluence-media.co/4sT6Skp
Weather fits Winter Carnival being this weekend.
Happy National Blonde Brownie Day.
Blois - tips: bloisolson@gmail.com
Today’s morning take with Vineeta Sawkar on WCCO Radio. LISTEN: https://fluence-media.co/4jWHIgL
House Majority Whip Tom Emmer shared thoughts on ICE, midterm elections and the state of Congress with Sunday Take. LISTEN: https://fluence-media.co/4sLFN2v
In a must listen, Legislative Auditor Judy Randall joined Sunday Take to discuss fraud in state programs. LISTEN: https://fluence-media.co/3YTziND
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The latest insight from Fluence Advisory on the loss of institutional knowledge from the Minnesota Legislature. READ:https://fluence-advisory.com/insights/
LEADING THURSDAY
SD15: New this morning, State Senator Gary Dahms will not seek re-election in 2026. Dahms told me in Marshall just a few weeks ago that running again was his plan.
SD5: GOP Sen. Paul Utke will run for reelection in Senate District 5 this year. Via his announcement, UTKE: “It has been a great honor to serve our area for the past 10 years, but the job is not done. The last three years under the democrat [sic] trifecta has put our state in a crisis. We need strong, experienced leadership to get our state on the right track and fight against the far-left metro agenda.”
MORE: Utke is likely to face a challenge from Rep. Mike Weiner for the GOP nomination
TMRW: The Fluence 2026 Election Tracker launches tomorrow in morning take.
A post about Earned Safe and Sick Time from the DSA:
DEED will have a media availability this morning at 10AM on employment data for December - might be a good to ask them about this strategy.
A new level of insight and information….
Fluence Media introduces more - Insider Analysis & Insight from TheDailyAgenda.com
Regular deep-dive political analysis and breaking news
Monthly insight-filled briefing memo on Minnesota and Midwest economy
Early access to our Fluence Forum audio and video assets.
A morning take mug
DRIVING TODAY
VANCE: Vice Pres. JD Vance will visit Minneapolis today. Via Star Tribune’s Sydney Kashiwagi, Vance will meet with ICE agents “to stress the admin’s support for them” and share remarks about how the city’s “sanctuary city” policies have “harmed their efforts.” TWEET: https://fluence-media.co/49xM0aR
Expect a media availability event midday.
5-YEAROLD: via MPR News, VERBATIM: “The Columbia Heights Public School district says federal agents have detained four of its students in four separate incidents over the last two weeks. One child is a 5-year old boy who attends a district elementary school and was used as “bait” to draw family members out of their home. The Columbia Heights Public School district says federal agents have detained four of its students in four separate incidents over the last two weeks. One child is a 5-year old boy who attends a district elementary school and was used as “bait” to draw family members out of their home. STENVIK: “Why detain a 5-year-old? You can’t tell me that this child is going to be classified as a violent criminal,” Zena Stenvik, the Columbia Heights superintendent, told reporters Wednesday…According to Stenvik, masked agents apprehended 5-year-old Liam Conejo Ramos in his driveway on Tuesday as he returned home from school with his father. …“Another adult living in the home was outside and begged the agents to let him take care of the small child, and was refused,” Stenvik said.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/3NxrOxh
US ATTY: via CBS’s Margaret Brennan, VERBATIM: “The DOJ is requesting military attorneys and forensic auditors to travel to Minnesota on assignment to the US Attorney’s office, multiple sources tell me. … The Minneapolis office recently lost about 10 prosecutors, most of whom handled criminal cases. Many of those resignations [were] due to objections regarding the handling of Renee Good’s case.” TWEET: https://fluence-media.co/4bKltZg
PRESIDENCY: DFL Rep. Angie Craig will introduce a bill today in response to reporting from the New York Times that estimates Pres. Donald Trump used his office to make $1.4 billion in 2025. Craig’s bill, the Presidential Conflicts of Interest Accountability Act, would “require the President and Vice President and their immediate family members to disclose financial interests and divest of any financial interest posing a potential conflict of interest,” per a release. NYT: https://fluence-media.co/4qBEbqK
DC HOUSE GOP: via NBC News, VERBATIM: “Republicans were able to flip the script on one core dynamic on Capitol Hill [last year]: finally getting the party to stick together on spending and debt. [Rep. Tom] Emmer, the gruff Republican vote counter, was key to getting the ‘hell no’ Republicans to wave the white flag after years of refusing to vote with their leadership on funding issues. … Emmer has leaned on the relationships he built as the former House GOP campaign chair — and, he told NBC News, he has learned when to tap [Donald] Trump to deal with difficult members.” EMMER: “I’ve had the conversation more than once where it’s like, no, you can do whatever you want to do. But now you can tell the president that that’s what you want to do.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/3LrMZ3f
TRUMP: via MPR News, VERBATIM: “President Donald Trump railed against Minnesota in front of a global audience Wednesday [at] the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. … For more than an hour, he touched on a range of topics, including clashes in Minnesota between federal agents and protesters. … Trump told the audience that Minnesota is an example of a place where embrace of foreign cultures has weakened America.” QUOTE: “The situation in Minnesota reminds us that the West cannot mass import foreign cultures which have never built a successful society of their own. … We are actually helping Minnesota so much, but they don’t appreciate it.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/3NVNrY4
MINING: via AP News, VERBATIM: “Congressional Republicans moved closer Wednesday to lifting a 20-year ban on mining near Minnesota’s Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness, pushing a resolution to end the moratorium through the House despite environmentalists’ warnings that it could devastate a premier destination for campers. … The resolution now goes to the Senate, and approval there would send it to President Donald Trump for his signature. … Republicans said on the House floor that they must open the door to mining near the canoe area to compete with China and Russia. [Rep. Pete] Stauber, almost shouting at times, [said] ‘It’s better in our backyard than in China.’ … Stauber brought the resolution under the Congressional Review Act.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4pTqNNA
RESPONSE: via Rep. Kelly Morrison on the House floor, MORRISON: “Minnesotans do not want a toxic mine on the watershed of the Boundary Waters. … Allowing a Chilean mining company to extract copper from our public lands, destroy the Boundary Waters, and send minerals to benefit billionaire owners and China will not protect our national security. … [Also], 22,000 outdoor recreation jobs and the $13.5 billion outdoor recreation economy in Minnesota will all be in serious jeopardy.” WATCH: https://fluence-media.co/3LZJm4B
DETAINEES: via Pioneer Press, VERBATIM: “The U.S. Department of Homeland Security claims that ICE has more than 1,360 arrest detainers for ‘criminal illegal aliens’ in their custody, or wanted individuals released by state prisons into the community instead of into federal control. … However, officials with the Minnesota Department of Corrections don’t agree, calling the numbers grossly inflated — evidence of what they call ‘operational incompetence’ at best or, at worst, ‘deliberate propaganda.’ … Non-citizens in the state prison system measure in the hundreds, not the thousands, according to state officials, who have repeatedly called federal tallies incorrect.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4buzVVp
CITIZENS: via Pioneer Press, VERBATIM: “Flanked by DFL lawmakers from across the Twin Cities, Nasra Ahmed broke down in tears Wednesday as she recounted sharing a cell with a fellow U.S.-born citizen. … Rep. Mohamud Noor, DFL-Minneapolis, showed reporters video of an ICE stop in St. Cloud that resulted in the detention of a driver who was able to show evidence of his U.S. citizenship. … Rep. María Isa Pérez-Vega, DFL-St. Paul, said Ahmed and others detained by ICE will carry psychological wounds for years, and the St. Paul delegation will advocate for an infusion of state funding to support family behavioral services in St. Paul and Ramsey County.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/3NW1bSB
LAWSUIT: via Groundwork Legal, VERBATIM: “Groundwork Legal, a new public-interest law firm in Minnesota, filed emergency motions in federal court to enforce release orders for Minnesotans detained by ICE. The filings also ask the court to prohibit the federal government from transferring detained residents out-of-state. … Federal courts are issuing release orders for people unlawfully detained by ICE, but the federal government is not complying. … Irina Vaynerman, a civil rights attorney and CEO of Groundwork Legal, [said] ‘ICE is evading these orders by quickly transferring people out of Minnesota and effectively disappearing them.’” MOTIONS: https://fluence-media.co/49PoV26
CLEAN | RELIABLE | AFFORDABLE: via Xcel Energy, VERBATIM: “We’re powering the Upper Midwest with clean, reliable, and affordable nuclear energy. For more than 50 years, our Prairie Island Nuclear Plant, located near Red Wing, MN, has been a workhorse of reliable, carbon-free energy. With two pressurized water reactors producing about 1,100 megawatts, Prairie Island generates enough electricity to power 1.5 million homes across the Upper Midwest. Unlike sources that depend on weather, nuclear energy delivers 24/7 reliability — providing the power we need today while protecting the environment for tomorrow.” LEARN MORE: https://fluence-media.co/4oCHdK9 (SPONSORED: Xcel Energy)
MNLEG
SESSION: via WCCO Radio, VERBATIM: “Minnesota lawmakers are already preparing for what looks to be a contentious legislative session. … House Democratic Floor Leader Jamie Long [said] a group of DFLers are working on a bill that would allow Minnesotans to sue [ICE] agents for civil and constitutional rights violations. … Republicans and Democrats will also face calls to enact stricter gun laws in the wake of last year’s deadly Annunciation Church mass shooting. … This is also a bonding year for the legislature.” LONG: “We certainly hope that ICE is gone by the time we get back in session. … But if they’re not, right, this could be happening in real time while we’re in session.” READ/LISTEN: https://fluence-media.co/4jS7Jxv
FRAUD: via House Session Daily, VERBATIM: “What Minnesota Management and Budget and the Department of Administration are doing to fight fraud — and what could be improved — was the focus of Wednesday’s [fraud committee] meeting. … Rep. Kristin Robbins (R-Maple Grove), the committee chair, said ‘several bills’ are being developed for introduction when legislators return to St. Paul on Feb. 17, and MMB officials are also working on language. … Erin Campbell, commissioner at MMB, [suggested] laws that set appropriate requirements for provider eligibility to get state funds, updating IT systems to provide data analysis and date sharing, authority for agencies to suspend payments when fraud is suspected and prohibiting someone suspended from receiving frauds from one program to receive funds from another.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4bbi8lL
MORE: via KSTP, VERBATIM: “State budget officials shared on Wednesday how they have deployed a team of data scientists to help at Minnesota’s Department of Human Services (DHS) to detect fraud in programs. … MMB officials mentioned they will ask lawmakers for additional oversight [powers] to spot and go after fraud. Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle promised changes.” READ/WATCH: https://fluence-media.co/49y3OCD
RESPONSE: GOP Rep. Kristin Robbins, chair of the House fraud committee, released a statement after Wednesday’s meeting criticizing Minnesota Management and Budget policies. ROBBINS: “MMB says it doesn’t have the authority to stop fraud, and that it can only provide support to agencies who identify it. They rely on an annual self-assessment each agency submits to evaluate their own internal control systems. This is yet another example of the fox guarding the henhouse. Relying on agencies to attest to the effectiveness of their own internal controls defies common sense.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4jPG4xv
MORE FEDS
TROOPS: via MS NOW, VERBATIM: “The Pentagon has ordered active-duty military police soldiers based in North Carolina to prepare for possible deployment to Minneapolis. … A prepare-to-deploy order was issued yesterday for members of an Army military police brigade stationed at Fort Bragg. … At least a few hundred soldiers are being prepared for the possible mobilization to Minneapolis. … The possible infusion of military police is in addition to the Pentagon orders last Friday that two battalions with the Army’s 11th Airborne Division prepare to deploy.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4qzpODm
USE-OF-FORCE: via Reuters, VERBATIM: “A U.S. appeals court on Wednesday lifted a lower court’s order that had restrained federal immigration agents from deploying tear gas or otherwise using force against peaceful protesters in Minnesota. … The St. Louis-based appeals court sided with DHS on Wednesday in a brief unsigned order, temporarily putting on hold the [previous] injunction while it weighs whether to issue a longer-term ruling that would pause it throughout the duration of the Trump Administration’s appeal.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/3NG7Pwe
MORE: via AP News, VERBATIM: “Federal immigration officers are asserting sweeping power to forcibly enter people’s homes without a judge’s warrant, according to an internal Immigration and Customs Enforcement memo. … The memo authorizes ICE officers to use force to enter a residence based solely on a more narrow administrative warrant to arrest someone with a final order of removal, a move that advocates say collides with Fourth Amendment protections.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/3Lp8t0E
WHIPPLE: via KSTP, VERBATIM: “Demonstrators outside the Whipple Building say they are seeing unpredictable releases of immigration detainees as an attorney warns that the federal bond system has not recovered from last summer’s policy changes and ongoing litigation. … People gathering outside [Whipple] said they have watched detainees walk out of the facility or get dropped off at random locations across the Twin Cities in below-zero temperatures and without basic necessities.” READ/WATCH: https://fluence-media.co/4pPhUEw
WILD ABOUT READING: Join more than 800 Minnesota classrooms and 30,000 students participating in the “Wild About Reading” program, a partnership with Flint Hills Resources which encourages students to read more using Minnesota Wild-branded posters, reading logs, and bookmarks. Teachers set weekly reading goals and give certificates to students who complete the four-week program. Fun program incentives include: classroom visits from the Wild’s mascot, Nordy, and the team dog, Paulie; a pair of tickets to a Wild home game, player-signed pucks and photos; and a pizza party for a classroom. LEARN MORE: https://fluence-media.co/49AHNSE (SPONSORED: Flint Hills Resources)
LOCALS
COTTONWOOD CTY: via FOX 9, VERBATIM: “Cottonwood County Sheriff Jason Purrington is disputing ICE’s account of the release of a man accused of criminal sexual conduct. ICE tweeted a video accusing Cottonwood County of releasing a Guatemalan man accused of child sexual assault, despite an ICE detainer. The sheriff says the department notified ICE they were releasing the man, but ICE told them they were too busy at the time in the Twin Cities to come get the accused criminal.” READ/WATCH: https://fluence-media.co/3YVp8Mi
ST PAUL: via Pioneer Press, VERBATIM: “The St. Paul City Council announced Wednesday they intend to propose a series of ordinances and policy changes over the coming weeks in response to immigration enforcement actions. … The first update, a new ordinance introduced at the Wednesday council meeting, would prohibit law enforcement from staging on city-owned property for federal immigration enforcement and would limit access to non-public spaces. At next Wednesday’s meeting, the council plans to introduce an ordinance prohibiting the use of masks and face coverings by law enforcement.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4jRbELh
COLUMBIA HGTS: via Sahan Journal, VERBATIM: “A preschooler at Columbia Heights’ Valley View Elementary was detained by [ICE] agents Tuesday along with his father as the two returned home from school. … [They’re] now in ICE custody, likely at a family detention center in Texas, said Marc Prokosch, a lawyer for the family. … [It] marks the fourth ICE arrest of a student in their district this month, Columbia Heights Public Schools Superintendent Zena Stenvik said at an emotional news conference Wednesday. In the small suburban district just north of Minneapolis, more than half the students are Latino.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/3LTwXPH
ST CLOUD: via St. Cloud Live, VERBATIM: “The organizers of a recent protest against Immigration and Customs Enforcement activity in Central Minnesota are planning another for 11 a.m.-1 p.m. Saturday. … Americans for Democracy, which reported a count of approximately 3,000 people for a protest on Jan. 11 in the same location, is organizing the activity. … Sightings of ICE agents have been relatively light in the past few days, [but] the St. Cloud Police Department has increased available staffing as a precaution.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4sTkvzU
AHEAD…
TODAY: via UNIDOS-MN, VERBATIM: “As ongoing federal immigration enforcement activity continues…small business owners and entrepreneurs will gather Thursday morning to speak to the impacts on their operations.” The event is at 9:00 a.m.
TODAY: via DEED advisory, VERBATIM: “DEED Commissioner Matt Varilek and Labor Market Information Director Angelina Nguyen will be available from 10:00-10:30 a.m. to answer questions from the press regarding the latest employment data.”
TODAY: Advocates with MNIWOC will hold a virtual press conference at 10:00 a.m. to raise awareness of prison phone line issues and call for new laws that allow inmates to make phone calls from tablets.
TODAY: The Senate subcommittee on federal impacts will hold a hearing at 11:30 a.m. to discuss “violations of immigration law, civil liberties, constitutional and human rights,” per a release.
TODAY: Governor Tim Walz has no public events scheduled.
TODAY: The Center for Rural Policy & Development will host a virtual event spotlighting Citizens League’s Minnesota Legislative Exchange program. A bipartisan group of legislators — Reps. Dave Baker, Ned Carroll, Mary Frances Clardy and Natalie Zeleznikar — will discuss their experiences in the exchange. The event is at 12:00 noon.
TODAY: Rochester’s District 25 lawmakers — Sen. Liz Boldon, Rep. Andy Smith and Rep. Kim Hicks — are holding a virtual town hall at 7:00 p.m.
TODAY: The Suburban Solutions Caucus will host two listening sessions on education Thursday — the first in Champlin at 5:30 p.m. and the second in Rogers at 7:30 p.m. Reps. Danny Nadeau, Ben Bakeberg and Andrew Myers will attend.
TODAY: via Voice of Alexandria, VERBATIM: “Rep. Jeff Backer (R-Browns Valley) will be joining local Minnesota farmers, stakeholders, and commissioners at the Agriculture Summit on Jan. 22. … He will be joined by Agriculture Commissioner Thom Petersen, DNR Commissioner Sarah Strommen, MPCA Commissioner Katrina Kessler, several legislators, local stakeholders, and livestock and crop farmers from Minnesota.” DETAILS: https://fluence-media.co/3LLAUWw
TODAY: Clergy members with Faith in MN will hold an in-person meeting with Target CEO Brian Cornell to discuss the company’s response to ICE raids in Minnesota.
TOMORROW: Faith in MN and related organizations have called for a “Day of Truth and Freedom” blackout, asking Minnesotans to avoid working, shopping or going to school in remembrance of Renee Good. There will also be a march in downtown Minneapolis at 2:00 p.m.
JAN 27: Rep. Ilhan Omar will host an in-person town hall in north Minneapolis on Tuesday at 6:00 p.m.
JAN 30: via DEED advisory, VERBATIM: “The Minnesota Trade Office (MTO) is delighted to invite you to join Governor Tim Walz, Department of Employment and Economic Development Commissioner Matt Varilek and Department of Agriculture Commissioner Thom Petersen at a luncheon event to honor this year’s recipients of the Governor’s International Trade Awards.”
BDAYS: BDAYS: AP’s Steve Karnowski, lobbyist Haley Cobb, KARE 11’s Boyd Huppert, housing advocate Elizabeth Glidden
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IN MEMORIAM: morning take from now to the future is in memory of Melissa Hortman her accessibility, leadership and commitment to public service.
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